Friday, April 22, 2011

Pääkallo Super Salmiakki

It's not a good sign when your salmiac is called "Super Salmiakki". But when it's shaped like a fricken skull, you know you're in trouble. In fact, if you ever come across this confectionary of salty death, I suggest you run - and run fast.



Or, if you're feeling extra sadistic, offer if to someone else. I obviously took the latter strategy, and the unfortunate "someone else" was our Japanese intern, Shun.

It's been a very interesting experience to work with someone from such a different culture, and one of the many things I've learned about the Japanese is that they are very, very polite. Unlike us westerners - who have no qualms about telling you just how much we hate something - Japanese people are generally more reserved. I figured this would be the perfect opportunity for a sociological expirment.


Clearly, this salmiac was just too strong for Shun's politeness, and he had no choice but to spit it out after experiencing a nearly intolerable amount of pain. Afterwards, he described it as "like a poison," which means that the pääkallo has earned the caustic rating.

58 comments:

  1. For some reason, your experimenting on interns puts me in mind of GlaDOS.

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  2. Oh, I love these. Damn, tomorrow I'm gonna have to buy some. The bags are so small I usually buy more than one at a time too.

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  3. +1 on what Matti said. Thanks for writing these recommendations - they make it easier to choose what to buy next. :)

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  4. Oh man, I can feel the yumminess in my mouth just from looking at that picture. Damn it I need to buy these tomorrow.

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  5. They are too good. Just too bloody brilliant!

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  6. Oh, I love these! I usually try to pick ones that have their eye-holes full of the powder.

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  7. These are quite fruity as salmiac candies. When you get the past the salty edge these are just so smooooooooth.

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  8. Om nom nom nom, eating these now. Deliciousness++;

    As an extra bonus, my bag had an extra soft candy that had apparently dropped from another production line in the factory and gotten coated in the salty deliciousness of these ones! Not as good as the skull ones but not bad either :P

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  9. i love salmiakki, but this is a little beyond my abilities.
    i was hoping you would attempt them!

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  10. My mouth waters from just looking at the picture. This blog is awesome! The worse rating, the better the candy. If you rate it "caustic" they must be very good! Gotta find myself some of these. :)

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  11. Gotta love the way how Finns reverse the rating ;D

    It's good, awesome ... Auh auh ;D

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  12. Pääkallo means skull in Finnish, so that would be why they are in the shape of a skull.

    It's pretty scary stuff. Poor Shun! I hope you bought him lunch after that!

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  13. These go pretty well with some milk. Maybe I'll buy a bag of this deliciousness next time I see some.

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  14. 14 months of waiting has been rewarded and our hero has finally found the absolute perfection that is salmiakki at its finest.

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  15. Drool...
    Reverse rating++
    ->Z

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  16. http://www.ingridscandyshop.com/7-lakrits

    TRy some of them there Djungelvrål. :)

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  17. Forget the tingling in your mouth when you eat "enough" of these. You've had enough only when you feel symptoms of arrhythmia.

    I've had my fair share of Salmiakki, but due to my slightly elevated blood pressure, I can treat my self with these "babies" far too seldom...

    Reverse rating is often fine but no self respecting Salmiakki eater could say that stuff like Salmiakki-Chili Domino would be good.

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  18. I agree, salmiak and chocolate is unholy combination and should not ever bee made...

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  19. Yes, these are defenately one of the best! My mouth waters from wanting them so much.

    Good choise! :D

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  20. You're not supposed to chew it (until you've licked the salt off).

    Shun the nonbeliever! Shun! Shunn!

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  21. The posts are too infrequent.

    Only one conclusion can be made:
    Alex is running out of salmiakki and is trying to make whatever is left last.
    We must restock him, people!

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  22. Anssi from FinlandMay 11, 2011 at 9:47 AM

    Mmmmm... Salmiac (with the Homer-ish voice). After reading your blog I can't resist buying some salmiac today.

    You should try these:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apteekin_salmiakki
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBR_J-C0CB4

    Real old-school salmiac :)

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  23. Has Shun recovered yet? It's getting slow here again, you could have him try something new again.

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  24. Ah, skull salmiakki. This is one of the great bags of pure delight and now I crave those too :D

    And that Apteekin Salmiakki is great too, just bought two boxes today and trying to keep myself from eating both :P

    Keep up the good work with the blog!

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  25. As an American, I can only eat these kinds of moon-people candy after dipping them in HFCS. The candy, that is.

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  26. The best there is!!! DEF my favorites!!!

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  27. Oh... there is nothing better than salmiakki! the saltier, the better. How come no one wants to send me a huge box full of different salmiakkis?!!! I'm a Finnish salmiakki addict living in Brazil and the withdrawal symptoms are BAD. I NEED IT and I NEED IT NOW!

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  28. Oh, and people could then bet on how fast I'll have it all eaten... And it would be FAST!

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  29. Really, after last summer I have found my people!

    The Dutch know their salmiac (being Dutch, I should know :P) but the Finnish... o my god the Finnish... They eat stuff that could kill any random normal person :D

    (Not to mention all the beautiful women... seriously, it's not even fair)

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  30. Here's a new commercial from Fazer, the Finnish candy factory mostly responsible for your most horrible experiments with salmiakki.

    http://youtu.be/nJBBakWOeEQ

    The slogan is (freely translated) "The world's most hated - Finland most loved"

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  31. Joey! We have had to develop some weird tastes in some things that don't seem edible to other people. That's why we can have all the good looking women living in this country :P

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  32. Too bad we can't send you the new hit of this summer: SALMIAK ICE CREAM!

    http://www.pingviini.fi/img/products/fazer-salmiakki.jpg

    Vanilla ice cream with salmiak sauce and salmiak frosting - delicious!

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  33. This skull shaped salmiakki is a classic, been around forever :). But I think there has been several different manufacturers, all of them taste about the same though.

    I remember eating these when I was a kid (about 25 years ago), and back then I only could nibble them, taking a small bite at a time because they were so strong :).

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  34. Congratulations, your site was featured on one of the largest news sites in Finland. The article is at http://www.mtv3.fi/makuja/ajankohtaista.shtml?1358803 but it's in Finnish. Well, at least your Finnish readers might enjoy it :)

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  35. It's fun to read this blog because i LOVE salmiakki, i could eat it all the time. :)

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  36. You should try salmiakki called "Djungelvrål" (Swedish candy, they are called "Apinan Raivo" in finnish), they are awesome!

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  37. Oh, come on people, don't be such wussies. Salty liquorice i.e. 'salmiakki' is not that bad at all. If salmiakki makes you cough and grimace that bad, I bet you've not tried some of the hotter chilies in your life.

    Live a little and at least taste some chili salmiakki (Habanero or Naga Jolokia chili preferred). Bonus points if you won't spit it out.

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  38. Oh yes! I love salmiakki! Man I should go and get some right now... omnom

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  39. Check out salmiakki selection from this online shop:

    http://www.suomikauppa.fi/index.php?language=en&cPath=24_36&sort=2a

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  40. HAhaha, Salmiakki is my alltime favorite :)! Greetings from Finland ;)

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  41. I love Turkish pepper salmiakki i eat that always in sauna

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  42. These skulls are such nostalgic sweets for us finns, everybody knows of them! I myself don't like salmiac so much, but I still can't resist these yummy skulls!

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  43. These are the best candies ever!
    greetings from Finland

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  44. Because of this blog, I had to go and buy some salmiakki skulls.omnom <3

    If I remember correctly EU legislation limited maximum amount of salmiakki in candies to much lower levels than about 10 years ago.

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  45. I found out that the aftertaste of salty licorice
    goes well with fresh and crunchy Japanese Fuji apples.

    You guys gotta try it!

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  46. this is my favorite! :D

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  47. mm, one of my favourites! Salmiakki is the best <3 can't live without it!

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  48. Oh, those are definitely one of the best salmiakki known to man! I'm literally drooling on myself even by thinking of the taste, especially the ones that have their eyeholes filled with salt... <3

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  49. Finnish candy is to candy industry what japanese porn is to porn industry

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  50. Best Salmiac ever. Gotta love it!

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  51. I have to say that these are classic when it comes to salmiac. I could eat salmiac everyday and never get bored, hte hotter the better. ;)
    Greetings from Finland.

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  52. See, in the photo, the ones with the crystal-packed eye sockets?

    I wish they sold those as a special limited item, like the Cap'n Crunch 'Oops, All Crunchberries' cereal.

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